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Castanea dentata Forest Alliance | NatureServe Biotics 2019
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Name: Castanea dentata Forest Alliance
Reference: NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description: This alliance is now extirpated but included subxeric forests dominated by mixtures of <i>Castanea dentata, Quercus rubra</i> and <i>Quercus montana</i>, formerly occurring in the Appalachian Mountains from southern New England and New York, the Cumberland Plateau, Knobs, and perhaps as far west as the Shawnee Hills of Kentucky. <i>Castanea dentata</i> was a major forest dominant in the eastern United States that has virtually been eliminated since 1900 by chestnut blight (<i>Cryphonectria parasitica</i>), introduced on Asiatic chestnut. Forests on xeric ridges and upper slopes had a closed shrub stratum dominated by ericaceous shrubs with an open tree stratum of <i>Castanea dentata</i> and <i>Quercus montana</i>. More mesic forests in this alliance occurred on less-exposed slope positions and had canopies dominated by <i>Castanea dentata</i> and <i>Quercus montana</i> occurring with lesser amounts of <i>Acer rubrum, Nyssa sylvatica, Quercus alba, Quercus rubra, Quercus velutina</i>, and, within the range, <i>Liriodendron tulipifera</i>. Understories were generally open or dominated by heaths. Forests in this alliance have been described as the most extensive forests of middle and lower elevations (1220-1370 m [4000-4500 feet]) of the Great Smoky Mountains. They also occurred at high elevations (mostly over 1400 m [4500 feet]) and have been described as the submesic, high-altitude equivalent of chestnut oak - chestnut forests, dominated by <i>Quercus rubra</i> and <i>Castanea dentata</i>, sometimes with <i>Fagus grandifolia</i> or <i>Quercus alba</i>. To the north, these forests occurred on slopes to 900 m elevation in the Catskills. Although replacement forests vary with geography, ~<i>Quercus montana - Quercus coccinea</i> Forest Alliance (A0248)$$ and other forests dominated by <i>Acer rubrum, Quercus montana</i>, and <i>Quercus rubra</i> have been the major replacement types. There is some hope for the potential recovery of this community, or something resembling it, if a blight-resistant chestnut can be developed and introduced. 
Accession Code: urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:38032-{CDB43353-059D-44DC-A472-2DD23B1B9E8B}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept: 0
      Party Perspective according to: NatureServe (organization)
Perspective from: 08-Jan-2014 to: ongoing
      Names:   UID: ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.898973 NatureServe ExplorerNatureServe Explorer logo
  Code: A0224
  Translated: American Chestnut Forest Alliance
  Common: Historic American Chestnut Forest
  Scientific: Castanea dentata Forest Alliance